Wayne State police are profiling Arab, Muslim students, CAIR complaint alleges

Kim Kozlowski, The Detroit News on Apr 15, 2025

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DETROIT — Wayne State University police "grabbed and pulled (and) forcibly removed" Arab and Muslim students from a peaceful "anti-genocide" demonstration earlier this month while denying others access, according to a complaint filed Tuesday with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights by the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The alleged incident at the Student Center is one of eight outlined in a complaint against Wayne State police. The security officers also are accused of engaging in "ongoing systematic racial and religious profiling (of Arab and Muslim students) in an attempt to harass, intimidate and otherwise dispossess WSU students of their constitutionally protected rights of free speech and freedom of assembly and in abject violation of state and federal civil rights laws," according to CAIR.

Most, if not all of the incidents involved "illegal and discriminatory conduct" and can be substantiated with video or public statements made by elected officials, according to the complaint.

“This is not about one officer or one incident,” CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid said in a statement. “This is about a systemic culture of profiling and exclusion that has created a hostile environment for Muslim and Arab students at Wayne State. These students deserve to be treated with dignity and equality — not suspicion and surveillance. We will continue to advocate vigorously until their full rights on campus are restored.”

Wayne State officials did not immediately respond for comment. Michigan Department of Civil Rights spokeswoman Vicki Levengood said Tuesday the department doesn't have the complaint in its database at this time, but it might be in the intake process.

CAIR-MI also said it sent letters to WSU leadership asking for a meeting “to discuss how the university intends to address the misconduct and prevent further civil rights violations.”

The seven other allegations outlined in the complaint occurred between late 2023 through April 2025 and include WSU police randomly stopping students who were visibly Muslim or wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf worn by Palestinians, even though they were not doing anything wrong, portraying the stops as "target(ing) based solely on appearance." Other alleged WSU police issues included profiling, harassment and "improper demands for immigration documents."

The complaint identified by name three male WSU police officers who allegedly barred a student from going back into a public event after prayer and made alleged threatening comments to a student, including “You’re lucky I’m in uniform…” It also mentioned an unidentified female officer who allegedly blocked students from entering the Student Center without legal justification.

“The allegations contained in this complaint are not only morally repugnant — they are legally indefensible,” CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy V. Doukoure, said in a statement. “...When campus police officers demand passports, target students for wearing keffiyehs, or use physical force on peaceful protesters, they are violating core constitutional protections. The law is clear — and we are prepared to pursue all available legal remedies to protect these students.”

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